Canadian ETFs: Smaller providers continue to get pushed out of the market

A new ETF issuer joined the industry during May with a suite of alternative ETFs.

The Canadian ETF industry ended the second quarter with assets under management (AUM) at $181-billion. Despite the booming industry, smaller providers of exchange-traded funds are being forced out of the market owing to increased competition.

The latest example is Galileo Global Equity Advisors Inc., which announced Monday that it will be exiting the industry with the closing – on or about Sept. 9 – of its only ETF, the U.S. Global Go Gold and Precious Metal Miners ETF (GOGO-TSX). “Although the fund has outperformed its peers since its inception [Sept. 29, 2017], the costs associated with maintaining this product in the Canadian marketplace are simply too prohibitive,” Frank Holmes, director of Galileo Global Equity Advisors, said in a news release.

As for notable recent additions, Evolve Funds Group Inc. launched two themed ETFs in June. The Evolve Global Materials & Mining Enhanced Yield Index ETF (BASE-TSX) seeks to replicate the performance of the Solactive Materials & Mining Index, while mitigating downside risk. The ETF invests directly or indirectly in companies engaged in the manufacturing, mining and/or integration of metals and materials, while writing covered call options on up to 33 per cent of the portfolio securities. It is also offered in unhedged units under the ticker BASE.B.

Evolve also introduced Canada’s first e-gaming ETF last month. The Evolve E-Gaming Index ETF (HERO-TSX) seeks to replicate the performance of the Solactive Electronic Gaming Index, designed to provide investors with access to companies listed domestically and globally that have business activities in the electronic gaming industry. The momentum behind e-gaming “signifies a cultural shift in entertainment with 2.2 billion gamers globally. … This year, the industry is forecast for growth upwards of 38 per cent,” Raj Lala, president and CEO of Evolve Funds Group Inc., said in a June news release.